Vehicle signaling device.



H. S. JOHNSON.

VE HICLE SIGNALING DEVICE. APPLICATION FILED FEB. 17.1915.

1,191,973. Patented July 25,1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

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"useful Improvements in Vehicle HOBART S. JOHNSON, OF MADISON,WISCONSIN.

VEHICLE SIGNALING DEVICE.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HOBART S. JOHNSON, a citizen of the United States,residing at Madison, in the county of Dane, State of Wisconsin, haveinvented certain new and Signaling Devices, of which'the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to vehicle signaling devices, and has referencemore part cularly to an improved device for attachment to automobiles,motor trucks, and like vehicles, to give an audible signal, upon abackward movement of the vehicle, thus warning persons who may bestanding or passing in rear of the vehicle against danger of beingstruck and injured through failure to notice the dan r of theirposition.

Signa s of this character, which are made operative when the reversinglever of the machine isthrown to its reversing position,

have heretofore been known; butsuch devices, which depend upon theposition of the reversing l'ever, are not always reliable, since themachine not infrequently b'acks when the reversin lever is in neutralposition, as in hill 0 imbing, through sudden failure of the motor orbrakes. Again, after the reversing lever is thrown to reverse position,sometimes a period of timeelapses before the machine is actually startedin mo-' tion, and a prolonged audible signal operating before theoccasion therefor arises is also objectionable.

In view of the foregoing considerations, I havedevised an audible signalthat is controlled by the backward movement of the machine itself,rather than being dependent upon the movement of a lever that ispreliminary to such backward movement.

In the preferred form of my invention from the backward movement of oneof the vehicle wheelsf'This insures not only that the signal will.sound'upon the backward movement of the vehicle, irrespective of theposition ofthe reversing lever, but it also insures that the signal willnot be sounded until the driver is ready for, and actually Specificationof Letters Patent.

Application filed February 17, 1915. Serial No. 8,737.

the signal is actuated by and I Patented July 25, 1916.

Isltai'ts, the backward movement of the veic e.

The device of my invention, its principle and mode of use, and thebenefits and ad vantages inhering therein, will all be readilyunderstood when considered in connection with' the accompanyingdrawings, wherein I have illustrated an embodiment of the inventionwhich I have found by practical test to operate satisfactorily, andreferring thereto-- Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal sectionthroughthe circuit-closing device. Fig. 2 is a perspective view, partly insection, of the working parts of the circuit-closin device, the outercasing being removed. 'ig. 3 is an end view, and Fig. 4 a longitudinalsection, of the carrier of the movable contactmember. Fig. 5 is a sideelevation, partly in section, of themember which icarries the stationarycontact-member, the stop pin, and

the circuit-wire terminals. Fig. 6 is a detail of a spring that isinterposed between the contact heads or carriers, and normally maintainsthe contact pins separated. Fig. 7 is a dia' am showing the wiring andthe position 0 the various parts when mounted on the vehicle. .Fig. 8 isa perspective view is modified to provide a verticalextension 14, inwhich is securely mounted a sleeve or said pinion being mounted in theusual supporting bracket 14. This bracket casing 15. In the-outer end ofthe casing 15 is a hearing block 16, in which is journaled an actuatingshaft 17 carrying at one end a pinion 18 that meshes with and is drivenby the speedometer pinion 13. It will be seen that, with the describedarrangement, the shaft 17 will always be rotated in the same directionas the vehicle wheel 11, turning forwardly when the wheel runsforwardly, and backwardly whenever the vehicle moves in a backwarddirection. The arrow shown in Fig. 2 indicates the normal direction ofrotation of the shaft 17 when the vehicle is moving forwardly. In thecasing 15, inwardly of the bearing member 16, is loosely mounted acylindrical sleeve 19, the outer end of which is bored to receive anautomatic clutch member 20 that is drivingly connected to the shaft 17,as by a fiat-sided tenon 21 (Fig. 2) on said shaft fitting an axial boreor socket 22 of the clutch member. The clutch member has a series ofperipheral cam faces 23, and, between said faces, a corresponding seriesof radial lugs 24; .and cotiperating with each cam face,.between a pairof .lugs, is a roller 25; the lugs 24 operating to space the rollers 25and also, in cotiperation with the bearing 16 and bored sleeve 19, toprevent endwise movement of the clutch member 20 and its actuating shaft17. This construction, as will be readily seen, provides a roller clutchthat is operative to rotate the sleeve 19 when the shaft 17 is turned ina counter-clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 2, but is idle when thesame is turned in the opposite or clockwise direction.

The sleeve 19 actuates the circuit-closing device, which consistsprimarily of two cylindrical heads designated as entireties by 26 and27, respectively, that are made of insulating material, preferably hardfiber. The head 27 is held stationary in the outer casing 15, as bymeans of a screw 28, shown in Fig. 1. The head 26 turns freely in thecasing 15, and its outer portion has a frictional engagement with thesleeve 19, for which purpose it may be formed in a pair of segments 29and 30, the former of which is an integral part of the head 26, whilethe latter is. mounted and guided thereon by dowel 31; the segments 29and 30 being normally? forced apart by an interposed spring 32,. wherebythe frictional engagement of the split .or divided portion of the 1contact 'head 26 with the sleeve 19 is maintained. The contact head 26is provided with a contact pin 33 that projects for wardly of one facethereof; and the contact head 27 is provided with a similar contact pinthat projects forwardly of that face thereof that is opposite to-thecontact head 26. (The head 27 is also provided with a. stop pin 35,which has no electrical connection. It will be noted by reference toFig. 2 that the contact pin 33 in the head 26 lies between the stop pin35 and the contact pin 34 on the head 27. In the normal position ends ofthis spring, as best shown ig. 6,

being soldered or otherwise anchored to two metal plugs or heads 37 and38, which are tapped to receive sniall screws 39 and 40, respectively(Figs. 4 and 5), whereby said spring is placed in electrical connectionwith the contact pin 33 and with a terminal post 41 mounted in the head27 The spring 36 is I under tension m such a direction as to tend tokeep the contact pins 33 and 34 separated, with the pin 33 1ying againstthe stop pin 35, as shown in Fig. 2. Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, it willbe evident that if the head 26 is rotated in a counter-clockwisedirection, the contact pin 33 will be brought around against contact pin34, and the circuit will be closed at that point.

The outer end of terminal post 41 and the outer end of contact pin 34(which also serves as a terminal post) are reduced and shouldered, asindicated in Fig.5, to receive terminal clamps in the form of splitcollars 42 and 43, respectively, the solid ends of which have theclrcuit wires 44 and 45 soldered or otherwise electrically joinedthereto.

In the diagrammatic view, Fig. 7, 46 indicates a battery or other sourceof current I mounted at any convenient point on the automobile; and 44and 45 indicate the circuit wires between the automaticcircuit-controlling device described and an audible signal, such as ahorn 47 located preferably at the rear of the vehicle; the battery 46being includedin one of said circuit line-wires.

The operation ofthe device is as follows:

When the vehicle is traveling in a forward I direction, the rotation ofthe shaft 17 is in such a direction as to mamtam the cam clutch 20 idle,so that the friction sleeve 19 will not revolve and the shaft 17 willsimply fturn as an idle shaft. When, however, the

vehicle starts to move in a backward direction, the shaft 17 will beinstantly rotated in the opposite direction, whereupon the cam clutch 20will engage head 26, through its frictional contact with sleeve 19, willbe rotated until the contact pins 33 and 34 come circuit, therebyinstantly sounding the alarm 47 and warning any one who may be orpassing in rear of the vehicle of its move ent. As soon as the head 26has reached the limit of its movement, the sleeve 19 will begin to slipon the friction portion of' the head 26, the friction being great enoughto hold the contact pins together as long as the rotation continues 1nthis direction under the backward movement of the the sleeve 19, and thetogether to close the. i

' vehicle. It has been found inpractice that when the vehicle is broughtto a standstill after moving in a' backward direction; it invariablyrecoils slightly, thereby rotating the shaft 17 in the oppositedirection sufliciently to separate the contact pins 33 and 34 and openthe circuit, thus avoiding the objection that might exist to maintainingthe circuit closed and the signal device in operation after the vehiclehas. come to a stop and until it moves forwardly again.

In Fig. 9, I have shown a normally-closed spring contact-device 48interposed in-one of the line wires and manually controlled by a pushbutton 49 within convenient reach of the driver, so as to enable thelatter, if he chooses, to hold the circuitopen while backing. Forinstance, should he be backing for a long distance, the continuous soundof the horn, when not necessary for, warning purposes, might beobjectionable on account of its noise and on account of its drain on thebattery. 1

While I have illustrated and described one practicable and workableembodiment of the invention, I do not limit the latter to the s ecificdetails disclosed, since these may, obviously, be modified and changedby the skilled mechanic to .suit individual taste or circumstanceswithout involving any-departure from the principles involved orsacrific-f ing any of the advantages and benefits secured by theinvention. It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that thecircuit controlling mechanism herein disclosed and claimed may beemployed to advantage with other kinds of warning signals, such asvisual signals. I claim:

1. A circuit controlling mechanism for vehicle signaling devicescomprising, in combination with the terminals of a normally opencircuit, a stationary contact member in said circuit, a movable contactmember, a stop limiting the separating movement of said contact members,and means adapted to be geared to a wheel of the vehicle for actuatingsaid movable contact member into engagement with said stationary contactmember during backward movement of said wheel, said contact actuatingmeans including a friction clutch operative to permit slip after saidcontact members have been brought into engagement with each other.

2. A circuit controlling mechanism for vehicle signaling devicescomprising, in combination with the terminals of a normally opencircuit, a stationary contact member in said circuit, a movable contactmember, a stop limiting the separating movement of said contact members,and contact engaging means adapted for operative connection to anelement of the vehicle that moves relatively to the latter in onedirection while the vehicle ,is. traveling forward and in anotherdirection while the operative to permit slip after said contact membershave been brought into engagement with each other, and also a positiveautomatic one-way clutch cooperating with 'one member of said frictionclutch to actuate the latter under backward movement only of thevehicle.

3. A circuit controlling mechanism for vehicle signaling devicescomprising, in combination with the terminals of a normally opencircuit, a stationary contact member in said circuit, a movable contactmember, a stop limiting the separating movement of said contact members,and means adapted to be geared to a wheel of the vehicle for actuatingsaid movable contact member into engagement with said stationary contactmember during the backward movement of said wheel, said contactactuating means including a friction clutch operative to' permit slipafter said contact members have been brought into engagement with eachother, and also a posit1ve-automatic one-way clutch cooperating with onemember of said friction clutch to actuate the latter under backwardmovement only of pin, and also a stop pin, both disposed across y thepath of movement of said first-named contact pin, a rotary frictionclutch member cooperating with said rotatable contact head, an actuatinshaft adapted to be geared to a wheel of t e vehicle, and a positiveautomatic clutch between said shaft and said friction clutch member,said positive clutch being operative upon backward rotation, and

idle upon forward rgtation, of said vehiclev wheel.

5. A circuit controlling mechanism for vehicle signaling devicescomprising, in c0mbination with the. terminals of a normally opencircuit, a rotatable contact head carrying an eccentrically mountedcontact pin, a

stationary contact head carrylng a contact v pin and also a stop pin,both disposed across the path of movement of said first-named contactpin, a spring normally urging said contact pins apart, a rotary frictionclutch sleeve cooperating with said rotatable contact head, an actuatingshaft adapted to be geared to ,a wheel of the vehicle, and a r0- tarycam clutch between said shaft and said friction clutch sleeve, said camclutch being operative upon backward rotation, and idle upon forwardrotation, of said vehicle wheel.

6. In a signal circuit, two contact members, resilient means for holdingsaidsrnembers normally separated, a rotatable memthe rotation of saidrotatable member conber adapted by its rotation to move one of tinues,and means for rotating said rotatable 10 said contact members intocontact with the member. second one to close the circuit, said rotatablemember having frictional engagement with said contact member whereby itis moved Witnesses: into contact with the second contact member A. B.MOREY, and retained in contact position as long as HELEN SoHm'rr.

HOBART S. JOHNSON.

